Hazelton, 36, will spend a combination of 25 years of extended supervision and probation following his release from prison.

As conditions of extended supervision and probation, Hazelton cannot drink alcohol, enter taverns, drive a motor vehicle or have contact with his victims. He also was ordered to pay $500 a month toward restitution, an amount that has not been determined.

Hazelton will receive credit for the 524 days he's spent in jail since his arrest following the July 20, 2012, crash.

Hazelton previously pleaded guilty to five felony charges: One count each of homicide by drunken driving, causing great bodily harm by drunken driving, and causing great bodily harm by reckless driving and two counts of causing injury by drunken driving.

Jesse A. Schreiner, 26, of Eau Claire, died of severe chest injuries after he hit the passenger side dashboard of Hazelton's van in the crash. Hazelton and three other people were injured in the crash.

Joann L. Pechacek, 53, of Park Falls, sustained critical injuries in the crash. She was in a vehicle driven by her daughter, Kristin M. Pechacek, 17.

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A plea agreement between Hazelton and prosecutors recommended a 12-year prison term, which Schreiner's mother, Chris Schreiner, said was not enough.

"I think it should be many more years," Chris Schreiner said.

Joann Pechacek told Theisen she's a "different person" since the crash. She can no longer work as a pharmacist because of the lasting impact of her injuries. It was a job she enjoyed, she said.

"I loved my career. I loved helping people," Pechacek said. "I'm half the person I was. The pain and the struggle was really unbearable. I still wake up in pain."

Pechacek sustained a fractured skull, concussion, broken vertebrae, shattered rib cage and severe damage to internal organs as a result of the crash. She has undergone nine separate surgeries.

Hazelton apologized for his actions the day of the crash.

"I realize there are people who hate me. I even hate myself for what I did," he said. "I'm really not a bad person, just someone who made poor decisions."

Dangerous actions

Hazelton was prosecuted as a repeat offender. He was convicted of seven felony charges in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties between September 2009 and June 2011.

Hazelton previously was convicted of drunken driving in April 2000 and March 2001 in Eau Claire County, and in April 2011 in Chippewa County.

According to the criminal complaint:

Hazelton told authorities he and Schreiner went to Do Dodge Inn on Menomonie Street every Friday to cash their paychecks. He admitted they drank alcohol at the tavern on July 20, 2012.

A bartender said Hazelton and Schreiner each drank three 12-ounce beers and two or three shots of a liquor-energy drink mixture that day. She said they visibly were intoxicated when they left the tavern.

Hazelton and Schreiner were kicked out of the tavern because they were jumping around, disturbing other patrons. Hazelton jumped into a van with Schreiner and sped out of the tavern's parking lot. As he approached a red light at Clairemont Avenue, Hazelton slammed on his brakes so hard the vehicle's tires smoked. He then stuck his head out his window and flipped off a woman in a nearby vehicle and hollered at her.

Hazelton turned north on Clairemont Avenue and swerved back and forth along all three lanes of northbound traffic, reaching speeds in excess of 60 mph. At one point Hazelton stuck his upper torso out of the driver's side window and appeared to be hollering, witnesses said.

Moments later, Hazelton's van slammed into the rear of a sport utility vehicle stopped at the traffic signal at Clairemont Avenue and Cameron Street. Five other vehicles stopped at the traffic light were involved in the chain-reaction crash.